Monday, October 20, 2008

It started a couple weeks ago, the funds from my PEJEP scholarship never came through, and I had to pay tuition this term out of my own pocket (well, I put it on a credit card). I went to the U, talked to the Financial Aid & Scholarship department, learned nothing, came home and looked up my contact for the scholarship. She wrote back and told me that all the vouchers had been sent out, mine included, and she;d check on it just to make sure.

Round 1. Flash forward to today. Armed with the email from my contact, and all the information on the scholarship, I went back up to the U. Started out at the front window of the Financial Aid & Scholarship department, where she looked it up and then was told that I needed to go to Income Accounting.

Round 2. Income Accounting. She looked it up again, couldn't tell me anything new, except that I really should have gone to Financial Aid & Scholarships, after all they're the ones who take care of them. Been there, done that.

Round 3. Back to Financial Aid, except this time instead of going to the front window, I go right into their main office. Oh yeah, good idea. First I was told I should have gone to the front window, because they would be able to access the information easier. Been there, done that. I had to tell her several times that I started there, they sent me to Income Accounting who in turn sent me back. And yet she still insisted on holding onto the belief that I had started at Income Accounting and that "They always send people back to us when they know you should have gone to the front window". She promises to check on it and disappears in back. 10 minutes later she returns and tells me that I should have gotten something from my donor (the scholarship people) and that it was my responsibility to bring it to Income Accounting. I told her that I didn't have to do anything last time, and that I was told that the voucher had already been sent. She told me that I needed to contact my donor. I decided against spending the next 20 minutes telling her how absurd her whole premise was, and how I know she must be exhausted after such a grueling 1 day of work, but I'd really appreciate if she would find some real answers instead of just giving me excuses. Instead I just walked out and called the contact at the USOE and left her a message. I want to be 100% positive that they have sent the voucher, and that there's nothing I should have to bring down there before going back to Financial Aid & Scholarships and parking my ass in their office until they figure this mess out. (Did you detect the, oh so slight, frustration in my writing?).